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Campaign reports give rise to questions about Corruption Commission's ability to fight system

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, speaks during a news conference in Albany to announce the appointment of a Commission to Investigate Public Corruption to delve into New York's campaign finance and election laws. With him is Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, right, a co-chair of the commission, and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
(The Associated Press)

Syracuse, NY -- The campaign filings of several district attorneys named to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Commission to Investigate Public Corruption have come under scrutiny in recent weeks.

Today, the New York Daily News reported that commission co-chairwoman Kathleen Rice, the Nassau County district attorney, has received nearly $300,000 in campaign donations from Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's law firm.

The paper quoted an unnamed "senior state government official" that questioned whether Rice would "hold Shelly's feet to the fire" given the large sums of money she has received from the firm that employs him.

Silver has been accused in the past of having a conflict of interest because he works for a large law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg, and has consistently blocked tort reform in Albany. His reputation has also taken a hit for his handling of several sexual harassment and assault incidents involving Assembly members.

Another of Rice's campaign contributors is Joseph Sitt, a partner at Thor Equities, The Daily News reports. That firm is one of five developers subpoenaed by the anti-corruption commission after news broke that the firms received lucrative tax breaks in a housing bill passed in January.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick co-chairs the commission with Rice and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Milton Williams. And The Daily News also gave a nod to Fitzpatrick in its story today, noting that he received "regular donations from an upstate law firm that employs Assemblyman Will Barclay (R-Fulton) and Sen. Neil Breslin (D-Albany). But those donations totaled less than $8,000."

Another commissioner who has recently made headlines is Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III. Sedita has been accused of strong arming his staff into giving to his campaign, The Buffalo News reports. Of the $80,000 in campaign donations he raised at a recent political fundraiser, some $70,000 was given to him by his own staff.

After the newspaper reported on Sedita's fundraiser, his campaign refunded a $1,000 donation given to him by a former assistant district attorney, who was fired earlier this summer in an unrelated matter. The former employee was quoted saying he received "subtle threats" to donate to his boss's campaign while he worked in the office.